Automotive vehicles use more and more display modules such as liquid crystal display (LCD) modules to communicate various types of information to the users of the vehicles. Display modules are generally part of a display assembly including an external housing and a printed circuit board including an electronic control unit to control the display module. The external housing is generally made of a die cast metallic alloy such that it acts both as a back cover and as a heat sink to help dissipate thermal energy generated by some electronic component on the printed circuit board.
Display assemblies are arranged in multiple areas of the vehicle including the central panel and the cluster area of the vehicle. Additionally, the users demand display modules with high brightness.
Some of the issues that are faced when integrating display modules in the vehicle include the need for thermal dissipation, Mura-effect (i.e. clouding) avoidance, need to ensure mechanical stiffness and good EMC performance, and of course competitive cost structure while still providing display with high brightness.
Current display assemblies mainly use screws to fix the display module in a housing. Such solutions are not entirely satisfactory because fixation by screw introduce tension on the display module causing Mura-effect. Such Mura-effect is the result of non-planarity of the die cast constituting the external housing of the display assembly. Additionally, many screws are required to hold all parts of the display assembly together. Screw assembly is time consuming on production lines and generate significant assembly cost.